The invention concerns a frame for a tilting umbrella and is particularly useful for a large umbrella or parasol of the type that is used to provide shade at tables and so on. The tilting facility allows the cover of the umbrella to be angled as required by the position of the sun.
Large static umbrellas are often tilted by means of a handle mechanism such as a crank or draw cord, because the top of the umbrella is too high to reach or is too heavy. The handle is provided at a level easy for the user to reach and is connected by some mechanism such as a chain, cord or rack to the runner of the umbrella, i.e. the moving part to which the stretchers are attached. The crank thus serves both to lift the runner so as to raise the umbrella into its unfurled position, and to lower the runner so as to lower the umbrella again when required.
The tilting action takes place as the runner reaches its top position, i.e. when the umbrella is completely unfurled. At this point further movement of the runner engages a further member associated with the shaft near the tilting joint, causing the tilt to be carried out. One such mechanism is shown, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,182,673 (S. N. Small), which shows a crank mechanism raising a runner which in turn slides a pin in an angled slot in the upper shaft member. The angle gives rise to a cam action bringing about a tilt of the upper shaft member.
The Small construction is rather unusual in that the tilting hinge is located above the runner, even when the runner is slid to its operating position. In most tilting umbrellas, such as for instance in U.S. Pat No. 3,850,186 (Weber et al.), U.S. Pat No. 4,697,606 (Ma) or U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,596 (Tung) the runner first slides on to the upper shaft part, and then tilts with it. This latter construction has problems of stability and is of little significance to the present invention.
While devices of the type shown in the Small patent have been known for a long time, they have the disadvantage that cutouts must be made in the shaft to accommodate various parts of the mechanism, in particular the sliding pin. This weakens the assembly; moreover the insertion of a considerable number of connecting parts into the shaft is tricky from the manufacturing point of view. It is an aim of the present invention to mitigate these disadvantages.
According to the invention there is provided an umbrella frame including an upper shaft part and a lower shaft part, the two parts being connected by a tilting joint to enable the upper part to tilt with respect to the lower, a runner sliding on the lower shaft part, for spreading the cover of the umbrella into its unfurled configuration, and a lever connected to and arranged outside the upper shaft part, arranged to tilt the upper shaft part under the influence of the runner as the runner is pushed beyond a certain point at or near the point corresponding to the completely unfurled configuration.
Because the lever is outside the shaft the integrity of the shaft construction can be maintained while preserving the advantage of stability afforded by having the runner slide only on the lower shaft part, i.e. with the tilt joint above the runner. Also the lever construction allows a particularly simple assembly with only two moving parts other than the runner, namely the lever and the upper shaft part.
Preferably the tilt axis is located radially outwards of the axis of the shaft, and the attachment of the lever to the upper shaft is about a horizontal hinge generally on a level with and parallel to the tilt axis, on the opposite side with respect to the axis of the umbrella shaft so as to afford the necessary leverage. It is best if during its action the lever is held captive by the runner, so that the runner can pull the lever down as well as push it up. This can be achieved by giving the lever a lug near its lower end, facing outwards and engaged by an inwardly facing lip of the runner. In order to allow release of the lug from the lip, so that the runner is free to travel down the shaft to fold the umbrella, the shaft can have a recess at some point on the travel of the runner, preferably at the point at which the runner first engages, so as to allow the end of the lever to be pressed further radially inwards as the runner travels downwards and thus to release the connection of the lever to the runner.
A restoring means such as a spring urging the lower end of the lever against the shaft can be provided, so as to ensure that the runner travels over the lug of the lever as it travels upwards, allowing engagement, and the runner and lug can have suitable inclined surfaces such that the upward movement of the runner lifts the lower end of the lever out of the recess, freeing the lever to be pushed upwards.
The invention is particularly applicable to tilting umbrellas of the kind in which unfurling and tilting the umbrella is performed by means of a crank, draw cord or other means lower down on the lower shaft part, i.e. accessible to a user, and in the case of a crank some device such as a cable or rack mechanism for transforming the turning action into a lift of the runner and, subsequently, a tilt.